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The good news is that the Houston Rockets held the Dallas Mavericks to 93 points on a 100.1 defensive rating. The Mavs certainly aren't under any pressure to win games, but that's good defensive stat against anyone. The bad news is that the Rockets managed only 94 points on the evening and had to rely on some literal last-second heroism by Chris Paul to save the day. In the end, it was a win, and for now, that's good enough.

The Houston Rockets are recovering. Tonight, James Harden continued to recover from his neck strain as the team recovered from a desultory second quarter. Things have alternated between quite good and very bad for the Houston Rockets, and right now they sit at the high-water mark for games above .500, a good-not-great eleven. The team is finally getting healthy, Chris Paul is finally looking like himself, and the team is finally able to get back a lead they surrendered. The Rockets don't look like world beaters, but they finally look ready to fight back when the world is doing the beating.

The Houston Rockets can lose games perfectly well on their own and really don't need any help. Unfortunately for everyone but Los Angeles Lakers fans, we now all have to deal with a tedious discussion (to put it very nicely) about Scott Foster, the NBA's most reviled referee.This was a bizarre game that ended in a bizarre, disappointing and deeply frustrating fashion and only served to further stoke the flames of debate regarding the Rockets. In short, just a another Thursday for Houston.

The Houston Rockets have finally crawled into the All-Star break. They would have preferred to do it with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they would have preferred to have the whole team healthy. Unfortunately for them, they'll have to settle for a chance to regroup and recoup for the next seven days, and put this loss behind them.

Hey, we are getting more activity from the Rockets as the trade deadline is just hours away! There have now been two trades for the Rockets in less than 24 hours. Iman Shumpert was shipped to Houston Wednesday night while Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss were shipped to Cleveland. Another play is now on their way out of Houston.

Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that the Rockets have traded James Ennis to the Philadelphia 76ers. In return, the Rockets were given the rights to a 2021 second-round draft pick. This is the second trade both the 76ers and Rockets have made as the deadline nears, with the 76ers giving the NBA world a shock by acquiring Tobias Harris.

You just knew that the Houston Rockets weren't going to remain silent with the trade deadline less than 24 hours away. Some wing depth has been added as the Rockets have acquired Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas, and Wade Baldwin, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

This will be a three-team trade between the Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers. As a result of this deal, the Rockets will be acquiring Shumpert and sending Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and a 2019 lottery protected first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Also, Alec Burks and a second round pick will be sent to Sacramento.

It was inevitable that Knight and Chriss were going to be traded. Neither had panned out in Houston and Chriss recently requested a trade from the organization. While there was some optimism Knight could bring some guard depth to Houston following a knee injury, it simply did not happen. With there being much less pressure to produce in Cleveland, it could be a better situation for both Chriss and Knight.

This trade also makes sense from a salary cap standpoint. Houston will dodge the luxury tax and save future money with Knight's contract off the books. Shumpert, Stauskas, and Baldwin are all currently on expiring deals worth $11 million, $1.6 million, and $1.5 million, respectively. With most of the money centered around James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela, acquiring key role players at a low value is a priority for General Manager Daryl Morey.

The Rockets will be the fourth stop of Shumpert's career. His previous stints have been with the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers and, obviously, the Kings. Shumpert was a key role player on the Cavaliers' championship squad from 2016, and he has had somewhat of a revival with the Kings by taking advantage of an increased role. He's currently shooting 36.6% from the arc on 4.8 attempts per game, and he has a defensive reputation that fits the 3-and-D type mold the Rockets covet.

Woj also reported that Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin will head to Houston as part of the deal. Both were recently traded to Cleveland as part of the Rodney Hood deal, and it's currently unclear how they'll fit in (if at all) with the Rockets.